From my apartment. The Antis Hotel is at right edge. Sea of Marmara is in the background. The flat rooftop at center-right, in the distance, was visited by a bunch of guys in suits the other day with a bodyguard. It looked like a scene out of “The Long Good Friday.”

Just at certain times. At this time of year the muezzin’s first call is at 5:45 a.m., the last one at 9 p.m. Five times total. If only there were as many grocery stores as mosques …

It goes something like this, but in Muslish:

“Allah is great, Allah is great,
“I bear witness there is no divinity but Allah,
“I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s messenger,
“Hasten to the prayer, hasten to the prayer,
“Hasten to real success, hasten to real success,
“Allah is great, Allah is great,
“There is no divinity but Randy Lerner.”